With so many of the top players in the men’s game wounded and ailing, it’s worthwhile to go back a couple months to here from Roger Federer on why this is happening. And the Swiss gave the best explanation: It’s that the tour is so much older now.

Federer speaking at the ATP Finals in London:

Shave 10 years of our age, and we probably will do better.

A lot of the guys are just touching 30 plus, you know. Back in the day, at 30, a lot of guys were retiring. Edberg, Sampras, it was like normal at 29, 32, to start looking towards the end of your career. Now you guys expect everybody to play till 36. When somebody is injured at 31, it’s like, Oh, my God, how is this possible?

Actually, it’s a normal thing. If either you retire or you take a sufficient break so when you do come back you maybe have another few years left again because you really made sure your rehab is good.

So I think for the most part it’s age, coincidence. In the other guys, let’s say Nishikori, Raonic, wrist, I don’t know what they have. Wrist to me is not something that comes from overplaying, especially if it’s your left hand. That’s just a move I can’t relate to because I don’t play double-handed. From what I’ve been told, the wrist is always in a troubled position with that flicking that’s going on more and more these days.

I think Andy even broke his wrist. Maybe that was something else, I’m not sure. Del Potro has had three of them. I think these things tend to happen.

The season has been the same for many, many years, as we know. I think just when you get older, you maybe have to manage your schedule maybe a little bit differently. But some guys, they just go maybe all out for 15 years, and they do it until you sort of break down, then you just reset.

I think you can’t put them all together. But for the most part I think most guys are touching 30, so that has a big role to play.

Right now there are 10 players 30 or older in the Top 20. Ten years ago at the start of the 2008 season there were just two (Guillermo Canas – 30, Carlos Moya – 31). And 20 years ago at the start of the 1998 season there just one (Thomas Muster – 30).
30+ AGED PLAYERS TO START THE SEASON
2018 10
2008 2
1998 1

Federer also brought up his point that the double-handed backhand can cause problems for your non-dominant wrist. And with the focus on power in the game and the increased physicality in points, we’ve seen a rise in wrist injuries it seems, with almost no top players immune.

Nadal, Djokovic, Nishikori, Raonic, Tsonga, del Potro and Murray have all had wrist issues while one-handers like Federer, Dimitrov and Wawrinka have not.

No Murray, no Kie, Djoko, Nadal, Stan, Raonic all ??s,nobody new on the horizon, advantage Federer, thank goodness for football, never been overly fond of this GS anyway, the fact i have to stay up all night to watch my favorites because of the scheduling urgh ….

A very tough way for Kei and Andy to “start” their seasons. Murray will find himself maybe around 25 in the world and Kei closer to 30 assuming they’re able to start playing again after taking January off, but even that doesn’t seem certain at this point.

I guess we’ll see in a week who is feeling healthy enough of the remaining players, but I’m guessing it’s not looking very positive for Novak either. Nadal seems like the only one of the group who may be able to get things together enough to play since he hasn’t been carrying this injury so actively for many months like the other guys.

Agreed TMH, Nadla is used to play with pain, as he said in many interviews, he is taking it light for him to make a push in AO, and even so not guarantee. If he has some long matches in first rounds it can hurt him more.

Novak also I think will play because he really wants to get back, but with low expectations to test himself in best of 5.

Don’t give much of a chance to Wawa and Raonic also, so that leaves us with Fed, Dimi, Thiem, Zverev, DelPo, Cilic and Kyrgios if he finally wills to commit. Can’t see any other than these 7 + Nadal winning AO 2018.

Sounds right to me, Daniel. As I’m quite far from being a professional athlete myself, it always seem hard to get the right balance between testing one’s self, as you say, and maybe risking a re-injury (?) vs. just sitting it out until you know you’re healthy again. I guess the latter can be hard to ascertain based on the nature of the injury, and so maybe going in with low expectations is the only option. This is what Federer did last year, though he seemed well past his back issues and had simply been working on match fitness. It seems like most of the guys still sidelined aren’t back to that level yet.

Ah gonza, sometimes the truth is boring! Anyway this proves I am not hawkeye. I have been reading his posts on the grand stand. He is witty and smart and never boring! That also proves skeezer is not hawkeye (a friend of mine had claimed skeezer was posting as hawkeye). skeezer is many things but he is not witty. So the nightmarish thought that skeezer imagined he was me has been thankfully laid to rest. Of course now that I am boring somebody may accuse me of being Tony N who by the way seems to be missing?

Last year, Fedal were healthy at this point, just rusty coming back. This year the players are still lingering, at least Murray, Kei, Djoko and Wawa. Raonic got back and maybe is just rusty and beyid his injurys. Nadal, recevring from a new one. But the ones who took 6 month off are not where they wanted to be at this point. Kei is the only one less than 30 and all toher have very grueling style of play.

Seems is pretty clear now, we’ll never see Big 4 comopeting a full year anymore together. 4 of them on “decent” health at the same time would be a miracle already as things are.

Lance Armstrong has been teste over 500 times and never tested positive and testing in tennis is a joke compare to testong in cycling.
If it wasn’t for his disgruntled mates (and his greediness) he would have never been caught.

Yes, testing in cycling is much more stringent, done more often and they also physically check the cyclists residence for tell tale signs. Yet Lance Armstrong was not caught out. Not only is testing more lenient in tennis, apparently testing for the fake goat is done by appointment i.e. no random tests. Also earlier they used to test everyone who reached the semis. Not anymore.So Fed can win a slam at age 36 but no tests.

And here comes the Lance Armstrong argument again because Fed and Rafa are still playing and Novak is not. There was clear evidence against Lance. None here.
Listen, if your “guessing claims” that Fed and Rafa are guilty, so is Novak and Andy and a bunch of others. You guys whine waaaay too much when things are not going for your Idol.
#noproofjustjealous

And since when is a positive test required for fans to voice their suspicions? A player wins only one slam in 6 years after turning 29 and suddenly he wins 2 slams in one year when he is 35-36 (when he is eligible to participate in the seniors’ tour!). If that doesn’t raise red flags for fans then nothing will. The mainstream media lacks spine or is bought.

Wog Boy @ 5:15 pm
Great point!
Others are not talking about Fed because they want to curry favor with skeezer and the Cult. But almost everyone talks about it in private, even Fed fans who are not cultish.

Looks like Bellucci has been suspended for 5 months for doping violation. Guys like Bellucci are not mindbogglingly rich like Federer who has more wealth than the entire tour combined ( including the other 3+ Wawrinka). So ITF is able to catch the not so rich guys. Fed has recourse to the best scientific brains who are at least one step ahead of WADA/ITF and he has the money power to pay huge sums in the blackmarket. So even without ITF colluding with Fed ( which they have been doing), Fed was always safe and now he seems to have found something more ( DNA alteration?) which has made him invincible. He loses only to allay suspicions.

t4t,
He is cunning, like his idol Saint, he is trying to drag Rafa in to conversation even we are not talking about Rafa and to throw the bone between the fans and drag them into conversation.
He used to do same thing with Nole fans when they were arguing with each other, taking sides and even judging which Nole fans are good and should keep posting and which ones are bad and should be expelled or banned, pretending he is fair poster and supreme authority. Some Nole fans fell into his cunning trap, I did myself years ago.

Yes, I noticed that he dragged Nadal into the conversation although nobody had mentioned Nadal. Ah… skeezer is cunning, I agree. Divide and rule policy? Many fans here do consider him to be the supreme authority and he probably was before the rise of Djokovic which gave some clout to the Djok fan base.
I admit he is charming but I won’t fall into his cunning trap.There is some protocol here imposed by skeezer and the cult that to be acceptable you have to congratulate their idol when he wins.

Failed, what evidence, in 2012 after he finished his career, and all evidences based on testimonies of his mates, but after he finished his career?
That’s excatly what I said, he wouldn’t have been caught if it wasn’t for his disgruntled mates and his greediness.
Try to come out with something original, like positive test.
Cycling is team sport so it was bound to happen soon or later, particulary when Lance’s mates saw how much money he made and they still had to shop in Costco or Ald.
Tennis is individual sport and if you are not caught with hard evidence (positive test) and you have loads of money then you are ok.

Sorry, since I don’t like to socialize with cult leaders I’ll move on another thread. The problem with cults is that they all signed their soul to Lucifer, and Lucifer comes in all shapes and forms to tempt you and steal your soul, in this case he was sent to Earth in the shape and form of 36 years old.

They do, but nowhere near to 36 years old (no Novartis either) and they are yet to reach 36 years of age. Let’s wait and see if they are going to be better players at 36 years of age than they were at 26 and I will glady say, yes, they are juiced.

Meanwhile I am watching De Minour vs Mmoh and it is turning into good match, haven’t seen Mmoh before, he is good, I like him……and please don’t disturb me anymore, as I said, it’s against my religious beliefs to socialize with Lucifer followers.

Love to see De Minaur play!..God!..such confidence!..Love his game style too..Hope he will make an impact at AO this year..and furthermore not fade away soon after that..For me,it’s enough of TomNick The Bratty…

Loving the way Fed is playing right now. Such a joy to watch. Huge Favourtie for the Aus Open.
Hope this Fed Express runs in full flow all year.
Can’t wait for Aus Open to start. My favourtie slam of the year :)

I like his chances earlier in the year for big wins. As the year grinds on, he will likely get injured (as he did in Montreal) which makes winning the USO unlikely. I see the AO and Wimbledon as his best opportunities. Wonder if he’ll play the FO this year. I kind of doubt it, unless he’s contemplating retirement at the end of this year.

Agree SG1, I think he only plays Rg again in his last year on tour, when he know he won’t be back for another season. And feels he has no shot at Wimbledon also, so playing RG wouldn’t make that difference. Hard to imagine him not being a factor in Wimbledon with his grass pedigree and success there, but eventually thisday may come.

Fed looked super sharp and awesome in his match against Zverev today. He looked so much more aggressive compared to the tail end of the last year, coming to the net more than 25 times, smacking the DTL forehand and backhand with some authority.
He even Baggled Zeverev in the 2nd set. The last two sets have some of the most awesome Fed Magic. It was a treat to watch.
Hope he continues this agressive brand of tennis in the Aus Open as well , he even rushed the Big hitters this tournament who often have troubled him.
He had more than 50 winners today :)
Can’t believe I am saying this in 2018. Such a previlage to see him still playing and reinventing his game to new heights.

Skeezer
Yeah, and I hope he cuts down his schedule even further this year to focus mainly on slams and avoid any kind of injury flare like last year.
He doesn’t need more than 1 build up tournament to adjust with conditions perfectly.

By his owm admission
“I’ve played almost 1500 times so you have to be careful now. So it’s nice, I work part time now,” he said, the crowd lapping it up.
“I work in the morning, I’m off in the afternoon or I do it the other way around.
“I’s good being a dad, good being a husband, good being a tennis player.
“I have the best of all worlds, it’s great.”

Sean, you need to do something about this. All the evidence is out there for Rafa, but no one does anything. Not a thing and the likes of Wogboy and t4t just lose it because Federer is so well liked, such a gentleman, such a star of the sport. They can’t stand it.

Drink more brandy Wogboy, drown your sorrows. Join him t4t. Losers.

Show the evidence and then we can have a discussion. Plenty of evidence for Rafa. We all know the signing of those documents, posted here months ago, Rafa takes these ‘silent bans’. Oh my. Such a shame that people cannot see past the end of their nose.

This has been cited before. Nothing new here. Wogboy and t4t, put your money where your both is and show us the evidence. You talk a lot about Roger. I would say you adore the guy, you cannot stop talking about him, you follow his every move, so show us the evidence. As for Rafa, all of the below has been out there for years. And you have evidence, yet you flatly refuse to either acknowledge or accept. Poor you. This was posted before, so to refresh your memory, here it is again.

but if the ITF accept it, what can you do? you just have to accept it as well.

/is_it_a_forgone_conclusion_that_nadal_is_an_open/

Rafael Nadal’s confidential World Anti-Doping Agency records are among the latest that were leaked by an alleged Russian hacker group.

Nadal is not taking anabolic steroids……….he’s using PEDs which directly manifest in being able to play harder longer. You know, the exact kind of tennis game that Rafa uses.

The other thing that is being left out here is SILENT BANS in tennis.

Tennis has an image to uphold. For players less influential than Nadal they hand out silent bans.

Take Marin Cilic. Was silent banned. Publicly it was said that he was injured, rather than suspended. Media discovered the truth and it was revealed that way.

If not for the media digging up the truth NO ONE WOULD HAVE EVER KNOWN ABOUT IT.

That is how tennis is governed, they protect their own brand.

Nadal is their brand. If they’re protecting people like Cilic, you can be damn sure they are protecting their second biggest money maker in the sport.

How catastrophic would it be for tennis if Nadal was outed as a known doper.

All those Grand Slam titles would be tainted, basically the last 10 years of tennis would need to have asterisks by it.

They can’t have that, so they have to protect Rafa and give him silent bans so he can publicly say “Oh yes, Knee injury is keeping me out from play.”

jatin Says:
Loving the way Fed is playing right now. Such a joy to watch. Huge Favourtie for the Aus Open.
Hope this Fed Express runs in full flow all year.
Can’t wait for Aus Open to start. My favourtie slam of the year :)

January 5th, 2018 at 1:58 am

For sure Jatin. He is playing well. I just watched the Kyle Edmund match with Grigor, Grigor I think too is in with a chance. He seems, finally, to have raised his game to a different level.

Willow, you are the one who has pointed fingers at Federer for doping. You. Yet, where is your evidence? Go to Hyde Park, Speaker’s corner. Plenty of room for sanctimonious speakers such as you and your partner. You would be in very good company.

Remember to back it up with evidence though, won’t you Willow. We wouldn’t want people to think you are relying on malicious jealous rumour, now would we?

This has all been said before. Problem is, none of the rafa fans ever respond in an eloquent way, just come back and quote Roger. It’s a bit idiotic in my opinion, because it is not based on anything other than jealous blowback. Thanks for your thoughts though. Much appreciated.

gonzalowski Says:
Madmax dear, Christmas is not your thing, it seems. You deserve a fine, as the French justice has imposed on Bachelet

Madmax i dont have partners i can think for myself, what ive always said is if one player is doping id bet my last pound they were not the only ones, its buy and large mud slinging IMO, Rafa sued Bachelot for exactly that as Gonzo already said, people are entiled to an opinion, even if that doesnt always curry favour with the Federer fans, or paint him in an amazing light all the time, yet you take umbrage with anyone that doesnt, and BTW some of the Federer fans dont always answer in a elequont way either ….